Podfather Reviews: Students, like you, making podcasts

Last week, I wrote a quick guide about how anyone, even you, can make a quality podcast of your own. All it really takes is a few quality microphones, a not-so-terrible idea and a solid head on one’s shoulders.

So to prove my point, I found a few podcasts at colleges and universities from around the United States where college students are making podcasts of their own. They may not be putting out podcasts on a regular basis. The shows may not be even close to the level of audio produced NPR or Gimlet Media.

But these students are still putting content out there. Here’s a few that you might want to give a listen to.

“The Chocolate Almond Podcast”

This podcast is one of many official podcasts done by the O’Colly student newspaper at Oklahoma State University, and they host a bunch of different talk shows featuring different hosts and reporters under the brand name “O’Cast.”

I took a listen to "The Chocolate Almond Podcast,” which features Oklahoma State University students Jacob Jackson and Cyrus Ghavami.

Cyrus and Jacob seem to talk about anything and everything, whether that’s stories happening in national news or what annoying classes they’re taking during the semester. The personalities of the two bounce off each other well, but the podcast seems to lack direction at times.

There doesn’t necessarily seem to be a strong focus or topic to the podcast, and it sometimes feels like it’s literally two guys talking in front of a microphone for an hour, completely unedited.

I like the potential that the strong personalities of the two bring, but more needs to be done with the planning of each podcast episode.

Rating: 3 out of 5 earbuds

“alligatorSports Podcast”

There are so, so many podcasts out there that take on the traditional sports show format and try to copy it. This podcast produced by The Alligator, Florida University’s student newspaper, is another one of those. And while I appreciate their effort, the show struggles to capture attention.

Like a lot of amateur podcasts struggle with, the sound quality of the podcast is sub-par. Usually, one wants to put an individual microphone up a couple feet away from each person talking on a podcast to get the best audio. Otherwise, the audio may end up echoing around the room, distracting from what’s actually being said.

Although the writers and reporters for The Alligator on the podcast seem knowledgeable, the lasting impression it leaves is a show that’s hard to listen to.

Rating: 2 out of 5 earbuds

Club Hub

Student-run radio stations at colleges and universities are some of the places where the most candid and crazy conversations happen on campuses, and a lot of these stations produce podcasts too. One in particular is “Club Hub,” by WPTS-FM out of the University of Pittsburgh.

This interview-driven podcast talks with representatives from clubs all over campus ranging from political activists to people who represent minority students. And while it’s very informative, the student hosts could add a bit more personality to their conversations. Frankly, it’s a bit dry.

By potentially adding interesting segments to the show including the interview, the podcast has the chance to be a more interesting listen.

Rating: 3 out of 5 earbuds

Liam Niemeyer is a senior studying journalism at Ohio University’s Honors Tutorial College. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Do you pod the cast? Let Liam know by tweeting him@liamniemeyer.